Discovery Time

Subtitle

Areas in our classroom

Literacy: Here, children explore the world of books and feel safe and secure as they are introduced to reading. Brightly illustrated children's books are displayed on low shelves. In front of them, children are curled up on a rug with the books they have selected. They lounge against large, comfortable, multi-colored cushions as I help them sound out words. Children with headsets listen to tapes of stories, following the pictures in their books. Others gesture intently as I read a favorite story. Sometimes there are chairs and small tables with paper and crayons and markers for children to practice drawing and writing.

Dramatic play or housekeeping: Children experiment with different roles as they explore the familiar and the unknown through pretend play. This area is filled with props and dress-up clothes to encourage imagination. One day it might be a kitchen with a play stove, sink and dishes; the next day it might be a post office, restaurant, or airplane. Children learn to work with other children, to share and to make compromises (who gets to be the mother? The father? The baby?). They also practice verbal skills and develop an understanding of symbolic representation that leads to the development of reading and writing skills.

Manipulative play: One child is carefully stringing beads into colorful patterns, a second is building a complex structure out of Legos, and a third is bent over a puzzle, deep in concentration. In this area, shelves are filled with puzzles, pegboards, beads, and other small construction toys. Children develop fine motor skills by using their fingers and hands in creative ways. They learn hand/eye coordination and practice problem-solving skills.

Blocks: Two children are working together to build "the highest tower in the whole world." A girl is constructing a bridge and a boy is loading little people into cars for a journey over the girl's bridge and down the road he has just completed. They are developing an understanding of the relationships between size and shape, and the basic math concepts of geometry and numbers.

Art: Here are the raw materials for creativity — colored paper, crayons, markers, tape, paste, safe scissors — set out on shelves and tables. One child is tracing the outlines of leaves; another is cutting out shapes and pasting them in patterns on colored paper. A third is painting at an easel, and a fourth is making a hippopotamus out of play-dough. Art projects may be done either independently or simultaneously as a class activity. Children are developing small muscle control and hand/eye coordination, as well as creativity.

Dance/Movement

Dance is a form of expression, as well as an important tool for physical development. In our preschool,

children have the opportunity to dance in a creative, nurturing and encouraging environment where we

combine skill development with exploration and improvisation. Children explore different ways to move

their bodies through space usually inspired by specific images and the monthly preschool themes. They

learn sequencing and how to follow directions through movement repetition, working through a series of

movements and by making up and practicing their own dances. Creative dance is a way for children to

develop body-awareness, gross motor skills, sensitivity to music and rhythm and an understanding of

spatial relations and non-verbal expression.

Circle Time: This is where the entire class gathers to listen as the teacher reads a story or explains an upcoming project. Children often begin and end the day on the rug area.

Sensory: One child is experimenting at the water table to find out what floats and what sinks. Another is pouring sand through a funnel into containers of different sizes. Water and sand tables equipped with boats, cups, funnels, and sieves encourage children to explore mediums like water and sand, to understand the physical world, and to develop concepts underlying math and physics.

Science: Plants, classroom pets, and aquariums are found here. One child may plant a seed in a pot, carefully patting down the soil, while another measures the temperature in the aquarium. I will put out interesting objects from nature, such as leaves, rocks, and seashells, for children to examine with a magnifying class, plus paper and markers to draw them.

Dance/Movement

Dance is a form of expression, as well as an important tool for physical development. In our preschool,

children have the opportunity to dance in a creative, nurturing and encouraging environment where we

combine skill development with exploration and improvisation. Children explore different ways to move

their bodies through space usually inspired by specific images and the monthly preschool themes. They

learn sequencing and how to follow directions through movement repetition, working through a series of

movements and by making up and practicing their own dances. Creative dance is a way for children to